Life in Hong Kong

The plan was to spend just enough time in Hong Kong to get Chinese visas done, but thanks to the injuries from Thailand, we stayed there more than twice as that. It was all good though. Almost no sightseeing, daily visits to a clinic, grocery shopping, cooking and just living a nearly normal routine life. Nevermind the price level of the first world, Hong Kong is an excellent place for being instead of just visiting. It is a Bladerunner city, China for beginners and New York of the East. One of my favorite cities in the world.

In Thailand I took very few pictures, but Hong Kong dragged me back in the shooting mode. No landscapes or tourist shots this time, but Hong Kong life in different forms.

Thailand’s greatest hits

Bangkok â‡¨ Ko Phangan â‡¨ Ko Tao â‡¨ Bangkok â‡¨ Pai â‡¨ Chiang Mai

Thailand was different. The plan was to have a neat one-month vacation with great food and zero stress, but I ended up being ill most of the time. First mysterious fever with cough, then ear infection, which produced one of the most intense pain I have ever experienced and finally a biking accident with a lot of scratches. One month in Thailand and 80% of the time was spent being sick with two kinds of antibiotics, a variety of painkillers and a myriad of ear drops.

Fortunately the destinations we picked were chill enough to spend time being sick comfortably. Haad Yuan was magical as always. The common theme of this season was an invasion of Full Moon bucketheads in neon colored t-shirts. Half of the beach is already lost to full mooners and who knows where this development will lead further. The plan to build a dividing wall across the beach was hatched, which received enthusiastic support from regulars, but nothing ever materialised. Maybe next season then.

Ko Tao has not changed at all from the last time. It seems Sairee beach had reached its full potential for fitting in more resorts and restaurants and the end product is enjoyable despite its touristic nature. I could not go diving because of the ear infection, but did not feel sad about it, which finally convinced me that scuba diving was not my cup of tea. Oh well, there are a myriad of other things to enjoy in this life.

Pai has considerably changed since the last time three years ago. New resorts have been built and more are on the way. Now Pai is dominated by rowdy American teenagers and even more Chinese tourists. I had a horrible vision what if in the near future it will become a boutique destination with excellent shopping and eating options aimed at catering Chinese tourists en masse. In the end the most important thing that matters to local businesses is who brings the most money. In the contest of poor white hippies and wealthy upper middle class from China, the winner is clear. Thankfully for now the chilled out lovely atmosphere is still there. People are friendly and easy-going, food is great and live music is somewhere every night. What else could you wish? Pai could be fully enjoyed only for one day, after which we spent the rest of the time recovering from the biking accident in the 40Â°C heat. Not an ideal way to spend a holiday or treat wounds by any means, but what you can do…

Thailand has never been that rough, as if it was sending a message: you are not welcomed this time. Coincidentally a lot of time was spent in discussions about the real nature of Thai friendliness. Whether “the land of thousand smiles” is authentic in its smiles or whether it is just a cultural mask that stems from the fear to lose one’s face. Anyhow Thailand is still my favourite destination in South East Asia. No bad feelings.

Bangkok by night

Bangkok’s own superstar Chapi checking out the situation.

Sunrise at the Donsak pier before boarding a ferry to Koh Phangan.

Wai Nam beach, Koh Phangan.

Coconut wisdom.

Somewhere between Haad Yao and Wai Nam, Koh Phangan.

The rainy Koh Tao.

Sairee beach, Koh Tao

Nang Yuan beach at Koh Tao

Arguably the best picture I took in Thailand

A magic shop in Pai

A creepy installation, Pai.

Pai river

And its dog

The proof of sending postcards from Pai

Witching Well restaurant in Pai.

Myanmar notes (Part 2 of 2)

The years of isolation and unique culture have made Myanmar look different on several levels. The national dress of choice is a longyi, a type of skirt equally worn both by men and women. Even though some men wear Western clothes (read: jeans and a t-shirt), longyi remains widely popular and is worn on all kind of occassions. Another striking difference is the liberal use of thanaka, a light yellow paste made out of wood powder and mixed with water, which is used as a go to make-up. The most common use of thanaka is to apply it to one’s cheeks, but there are really no usage guidelines. Some go into lengths of spreading it all over them. The purported benefits of thanaka range from a sun screen and a skin whitener to an anti-fungal agent, but the most important reason seems to be the aesthetic one. Beauty is really in the eyes of a beholder.

The national drug of choice is betel leaf combined with tobacco and limestone. Betel leaf on its own does nothing apart from eliminating a breathe odour and promoting saliva production, but when combined with tobacco and limestone, it forms something similar to Swedish snus. Betel stations are found everywhere and most of the male population seems to be addicted to it. Other than that a prolonged use colours one’s teeth red, as well as walls and roads all over the country are coloured with red spit stains. Just lovely.

Another oddity about Myanmar that sets it apart from the rest of South East Asia is that there is no haggling. All attempts to haggle are returned with a blank stare and a plain no. In the worst case they just walk away, as it happened to us, when trying to negotiate a taxi ride price at 5AM in the morning in Bagan. This “no haggling” culture made me thinking that it must be weird to locals to see wealthy foreigners come to their country and try to get a couple of dollars off the items with a fixed price.

Buddhism is taken seriously in Myanmar. Meditation is taught in schools and students meditate every day for 15 minutes before classes start. Locals spent their holidays doing vipassana retreats and Buddha TV is a number one channel in Myanmar. Buddhist mantras are played in tourist buses, before they switch to Myanmar pop. Monks have celebrity statuses with their faces plastered over billboards all over the country and stupas are literally everywhere. Yet for such a Buddhist country, the government has been historically heavily intolerable to any opposition. This is changing too with democracy movements no longer being outlawed and some kind of democratic election process being set up. Still the army presence is clearly visible in the country. Soldiers and army bases were seen on multiple occasions during our stay in Myanmar.

I see little reason to visit Myanmar as a tourist again in the near future. After two and half weeks we ran out of things to see and got the impression that this was it. There are undoubtedly many other things to see and do in Myanmar, but due to poor marketing they are left to be discovered. Indeed, in the current form Myanmar is not quite a right country for a tropical vacation, especially when you compare it to its neighbours. Still if you like to see the country, which is something I definitely recommend, now is the right time before tourism industry really blows up. On the other hand, I would love to visit Myanmar again for meditation. Meditation centers are found all over the country and vipassana courses There is even a separate meditation visa available to simplify entering the country for meditation purposes. Who knows where all this tourist development will lead Myanmar to, but maybe they will be able to capitalise on their Buddhist heritage and promote a unique kind of tourism.

A child covered with thanaka.

One of many betel stations in Yangon.

Swastika branded tofu sold on the streets of Yangon.

A huge reclining Buddha statue near Mawlamyine. It is 188m long (three times as big as the famous Wat Pho Buddha statue in Bangkok and the whole complex is just awe inspiring.

Another huge sitting Buddha not so far away. This one is still under construction.

A rare sight of monks in bright red underwear running for a swim.

Myanmar notes (Part 1 of 2)

“This is like Russia 20 years ago”, was my first impression of Myanmar I made on the way from the airport of Yangon. Shabby infrastructure, poverty, dirt and funnily dressed people. Modest steps towards westernisation and full-blown capitalism, corruption and irrationality. Similarities between Russian churches and Myanmarian pagodas and love for gold in the religious symbols sealed the impression. Like Russia in early 90s, Myanmar is experiencing rapid changes. Nobody knows where the country is heading to, which understandably scares people. The latest Lonely Planet Myanmar is horribly outdated on topics like travel times, prices and other money issues. Contrary to the guide there is no need to change money at black market and there are ATMs everywhere. Quality roads have been built and modern AC buses with onboard entertainment are a norm. Wikivoyage is more up to date, but cannot keep up with prices on accommodation, which seem to have been spiralling up due high demand and low supply. Current prices for a basic shabby room (with a TV, AC and a fridge though) start from $25, an astronomical price for such a poor country.

For a country sealed off from the rest of the world for so many years, Myanmar has developed its own quirks. For example, while mobile phones are widely sold, SIM cards are a prized possession and can be obtained only by participating in the state lottery or by buying second-hand. The price for a second hand SIM card is $150 and foreign SIM cards do not work at all. Internet is widespread, but slow to non-working. If you want a faster Internet connection, be prepared to pay something like $600 for installing a dedicated cable connection in the Yangon area. Given the sorry state of Internet in the country, DVDs and blank CDs are all the rage in the country, which give Myanmar a very 90s look. However consider current rate of change, Myanmar will likely catch up on the data communications front in the next years.
Another example is tourism industry. Hotels are heavily regulated by the government and are obliged to report all the foreign visitors to the government on the daily basis. Tourist buses do reporting as well, so technically foreigners are constantly watched by the government. Any unregulated accommodation and homestays are plain banned. Finding a room with just a bed proved to be impossible on many occasions. Either Myanmar does not want any backpackers or they are totally ignorant about the needs of an average backpacker. One can hope that the government would loose its grip on hotels (among other things) and bring the accommodation on the same level with other South East Asia countries.

A boat full of pumpkins near Mawlaymiyne.

A boat full of pumpkins near Mawlamyine.

Setse Beach. Quite popular among locals, but we were the only foreigners there.

St. Valentine’s Day is serious business in Myanmar.

Hawkers on a rail station in Yangon. It remained a mystery what is inside those huge bags.

Hawkers on a railway station in Yangon. It remained a mystery what is inside those huge bags.

Yangon, the capital that is not

Yangon is the former capital of Myanmar that still feels like one. Despite its size Yangon feels provincial and sleepy. Most of the architecture is from the colonial times with only a few modern concrete and glass towers here and there. A great share of buildings looks like they have never been renovated, which gives Yangon a decaying, but yet charming look. There is no clear city centre or at least there is not much to do there for a tourist. Traffic is not yet unbearable, but it is steadily heading there. Motorbikes are banned, there are a lot of bicycles and unlike in other Asian cities, people actually walk. Sidewalks are wide enough, but numerous shopping stalls that sell everything under the moon make walking challenging. Taxis are ubiquitous and relatively cheap, as well as drivers almost do not attempt to rip you off. As with elsewhere in Myanmar, dust is everywhere.

To be honest there is not much to see in Yangon in terms of sights. Shwedagon Pagoda, the most significant pagoda in Myanmar, looks exactly like all the rest of them, only bigger and shinier. In a true anti-government activism fashion, we tried to dodge paying for the entrance tickets to the pagoda, but were caught every time. We eventually just gave up on it and did not even feel bad about not seeing it. Other than that there are the rather mediocre Kandawgyi Park and Bogyoke Market, which was closed at the time we went there. Despite the lack of sights and activities, Yangon has a nice vibe to it with its brisk street-life. It feels non-generic and the absence of global capitalism make it rather unique. No Starbucks, KFC and McDonalds on every corner there.

We were lucky to stay at old friends’s place for a couple of days, which gave us a much needed breather and a home experience with things like making pancakes and doing dishes. Myanmar wine with decent bread and gourmet cheese made the impression solid. Thank you, Inka and Pekka. It was lovely.